Missing Moments of the 'Exile' Series
by Samantha Strait
Summary: One-shots of events from our favorite character's crazy lives. Edward running around half-naked, Emmett pranking everyone in sight....what could be better? Rated M for language and later lemon-y action.
1. Chapter 1

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PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE!!!!!!!!!**_

**_After some requests to do so, I've decided to write some one-shots for my Exile series (which consists of Exile and Anodyne). This one is dedicated to '-'IncubusHelen'-' for being the first to ask for more of my crazy writing:D I hope you enjoy this installment of 'Missing Moments of the Exile Series'. Please, feel free to request subject matter for future installments in the form of a review and/or PM. I'd also like feedback as to your thoughts on this particular one-shot. Thanks and, as always, happy reading and writing! Samantha  
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**Operation: Get Edward Naked…Well, Half Naked**

_**Sam POV**_

I stood on the front porch, sopping wet, pounding on the front door of the house in Alaska. Anger coursed through me as I cursed out loud and in my head. My hands, when not hitting the door, were clenched by my sides in an effort to restrain myself from breaking something Esme would miss…mainly Edward's pretty face.

"God DAMN it, you son of a bitch! Open this fucking door right now or the second I get in this house, your precious piano will be in pieces. Are you listening?!?! It will be SPLINTERS, which will then be shoved up your ass!"

"Samantha Jo Whitlock! What on Earth has gotten into you?"

I froze, cursing even more internally as I turned to my very angry mother.

"Mom, I…Edward—we were—he—"

"I don't care what you two are fighting about now, Sam. That kind of language is not necessary."

"But, Mom, he locked me out—"

"Shush! Get inside," she said as she pushed past me, unlocking and opening the door.

I trudged up the stairs and into our room, nearly slamming the door behind me before I caught myself. Edward's laughter floated to me and I saw red. Thankfully, Jasper chose that moment to come back and blocked me from doing something Esme would regret. It took him a solid hour to calm me enough to get the story out of me. I came back to reality to his face filling my vision and his voice ringing in my ears.

"Samantha, what has you so angry? You're furious, darlin'."

"I oughtta be…your brother is an asshole!"

I caught him biting his lip to hide laughter and slid off his lap, landing in a compromising position on the bed. After straightening myself as gracefully as I could, I glared at him and spoke through my teeth.

"You think the third worst day of my life is funny?"

His face immediately sobered as he protested, the only lingering sign of his mirth in his sparkling golden eyes. Realizing that was probably the best I'd get, I sighed.

"Whatever. I'll deal with you later. Right now, Edward is going to die."

His eyebrow quirked and his head tilted in the most adorable way. I shook myself to get my mind back on track and told him my tale of woe.

"So, Edward and I were done hunting at the same time and decided it would be a good idea to run back before it started raining, since I totally hate getting wet. _He_ says it would be fun to make it a race. I knew I'd lose, but I wanted something to do.

"I agreed to race him back, but he wanted to 'make it interesting.' Thank God I didn't take the bet but not taking it pissed him off, I guess. So, he decides it would be hilarious to watch me get soaked. He got back before me and locked the door. He knew full well that he'd be the only one home, I had no key and I wouldn't break the house to get in because it would upset Esme.

"I get back, realize the door's locked and start yelling at him to open up. That jerk entirely ignored my screams and my not-so-nice verbal assaults on his mind and I get completely pissed…like apocalyptically mad, Jazz! I start cussing him out and, of course, Mom comes up and gets all maternal on me. The worst part is that Edward is sitting up there _laughing at me_!"

Jasper was still as the dead, looking like a deer in the headlights. I rolled my eyes and stood, making my way to the bathroom and mumbling under my breath. The smack to the back of his head on the way almost made me grin.

"It's not like you haven't seen me go nuclear before, Jazz. You don't have to look so shocked."

_I seriously need a hot shower right now…and dry clothes…and a way to kick my brother's stupid ass._ I started singing Shakira's 'Objection Tango' in my head as I tried to think of ways to get even with him. _Ruining his piano would be too much…so would burning his CD collection. Only Alice would be pissed if I burned his clothes. It's not like I can clean the toilet with his toothbrush since we don't actually use either. Gah! I suck at planning revenge! Wait…Emmett can help me. He is the ultimate prankster! _

I started as the door to the bathroom suddenly opened and my pixie of a sister started talking.

"Damn it, Alice! Naked in here…"

"Oh, please, it's nothing I haven't seen before. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that your plan will work."

I pulled aside the shower curtain enough to see my tiny sister bouncing up and down in between the sink and useless toilet. She came forward and started whispering so only I could hear.

"Your plan to ask Emmett to help you get back at Edward! It's brilliant."

"Alice, why are you telling me this? He's your husband—"

Her face was suddenly murderous as she cut me off.

"I don't care! He ruined priceless Givenchy couture by stranding you in the rain. I've had that top since 1965! He has to pay!"

"Okay, scary pixie. Remind me never to get anything on anything you've ever gotten me.…"

"You know you will…talk to Emmett soon or Edward will hear what's going on and stop you both."

With that, she disappeared, slamming the door behind her. I shook my head, trying to finish my shower in peace while singing the most annoying songs I could think of to keep my snoopy brother out of my head.

I found Emmett an hour later playing video games with Jasper in the living room. My husband immediately dropped his controller and was on his feet coming towards me as soon as he saw me.

"Are you all right? You've been sporadic—"

"I'm okay, Jasper. Thank you."

Emmett's sudden outburst and Jasper's quiet cursing brought my attention away from the rhythm of the circles Jasper had been rubbing in my palm and back to my original quest.

"Take that, general!"

Jasper rolled his eyes as I plopped down between them on the couch. As my husband picked up his controller, I leaned into Emmett and whispered so only he and Jasper could hear.

"Make sure you block your thoughts. Are both of you ready? Okay. Emmett, I need your help. I want retribution!"

Jasper groaned and sat back, sighing, while Emmett grinned and threw his arm around my shoulders.

"You've come to the Ruler of Revenge, Mighty Mouse. What can I do for you today?"

Rolling my eyes, I quickly told him my parameters for the prank. His face lit up like fireworks on the 4th of July.

"Oh, dear sister, you are so going to owe me for this. I have the perfect idea!"

I felt my own reciprocating grin as he told me what he planned for us to do to our dear brother. The self-satisfaction coming from both of us must have been to great for him to deal with because Jasper left the room, grumbling under his breath about an eye for an eye never working for our kind.

"Emmett, you are a genius! I could kiss you right now," I said, bouncing up and down on the couch. He sighed, putting a hand on my shoulder to stop the bouncing.

"You do realize this will only work if we get Alice's cooperation, right?"

"Yup. She's in…Edward ruined Givenchy couture."

His eyes widened almost comically.

"And he's still in one piece? Holy shit! I lost a button off a vintage vest she made me wear once and she got a piece of my ear."

I winced as that mental picture went racing through my head.

"So, when can we do this?"

The day had finally arrived and I was so excited I could spit…well, maybe not literally, but you get the idea. Our plot for revenge would finally come to fruition and retribution would be mine! I've told you a million times already I'm a drama queen…don't judge.

I whispered to Alice as we watched Edward come down the stairs.

"You made him wear the pants, right? You're sure this will work?"

"Yes to both. Sam, calm down. You saw this happen, too. Stop worrying."

I grinned as the dream replayed in my head. Thank goodness Edward had been in Seattle shopping with Alice when I'd had it. This was going to be fantastic if we pulled it off. Emmett came up behind Edward, almost pushing him down the stairs.

"Come on, Eddie. Move you skinny butt! We've got to get to school!"

I struggled to hide my mirth as I turned toward the door and made my way out. The laughter almost won when I heard Edward berating Emmett. _If you think that was bad, Eddie, you should really get some perspective on life. There are things that happen that are so much worse…._ I grinned at him when followed me out into the yard and glared at me inquisitively. Rolling my eyes, I took Jasper's hand and dragged him into the back seat of the Jeep.

We were at school before I knew it and it was lunchtime before my brain started paying attention to my surroundings. That's when the excitement kicked in and I had to sit on my hands to stop myself from bouncing around like Alice. Jasper secretly kept his hand in contact with bare skin somewhere on my person through the whole meal. As Edward stood to get rid of his unnecessary food, I nodded imperceptibly at Emmett, who winked and followed our brother.

When the trays were out of both of their hands, Emmett suddenly became a blur…well, to human eyes he would have been a blur. All of us watched with perfect clarity as he pantsed Edward in front of the whole entire cafeteria. The reaction was almost instantaneous after three seconds of silence: the girls' eyes were glued to him and the guys were laughing their asses off. Except for those of the student body who happened to be gay and/or lesbian…not the nicest way to be outed, I suppose.

I watched with overflowing humor and self-satisfaction as Edward, at human speed, pulled his pants back up and stalked out of the cafeteria angrily. I couldn't resist one last jibe at his retreating back. _Operation Half-naked is complete. Don't piss me off, Eddie, or I piss _on_ you. See you after school! _His growls were only audible to us as he grumbled his way out the door.

"He's going to have to see that every time anyone looks at him in this school from now on. That was epic, Sam. Nicely done!"

I turned to grin at Rose as Emmett declared that he was the one who came up with the plan and was the one to actually pull down Edward's pants. He huffed in indignation as everyone ignored him and went back to observing the chaos that half-naked Edward had left behind. I, on the other hand, sat back in my chair completely satisfied. _This has been the best day of school ever! I wish every day could be this entertaining. _


	2. Chapter 2

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**Hey, all! I know that I haven't updated in forever...real life kind of gets in the damn way like that sometimes. I really do love hearing all of your ideas for installments in this little pet series of mine, so keep them coming! This one comes from AnnabelleLee13194: sorry this took so long, but I hope you like seeing some Emmett butt-kicking:D Remember all, review/PM me ideas or requests for future one-shots for your favorite characters. It might take a while, but know I do look at ALL of them and consider intensely, so...READ ALREADY:D**

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_**The Epic Battle of the Balls**_

_**Jasper POV**_

"I'm so _bored_!"

"No, _I'm_ bored. You're just copying me."

"Am not! I was bored _way_ before you were, you big—"

"SHUT UP!"

Sam and Emmett both stared at me like I had two heads. They should've been frightened; I'd finally snapped after three and a half hours of arguing for argument's sake.

"You've been bickerin' like this for hours! Both of you are equally bored and equally gettin' on my nerves."

"Shit, Em, he's got his southern on. You pissed him off now!"

"Gah! Both of you pissed me off, Samantha. I suggest you two go jump off a cliff before I throw you off one myself."

"Whatever, man. Don't get your panties in a twist."

Samantha snickered as she stood, dragging my oaf of brother with her.

"He's right, Jazz. Take a freaking chill pill. Let's go find something to do, Em. I wouldn't want to offend the King of Siam over here."

They were gone in a flash and took their annoying boredom and arguments with them. I sighed in relief, flopping back onto the couch and grabbing the remote in my hand, allowing my brain to glaze over as I watched the mindless entertainment that was daytime television.

What seemed like hours later, light rustling from under the window of the family room grabbed my attention. I was suddenly alert and silently sprinted to the window, avoiding being seen by pausing beside the draperies. My ears picked up nothing for a full minute before I heard the familiar voices of my wife and brother hissing at each other below me. I sighed and rolled my eyes, listening to find out what they were up to now.

"Damn you, Emmett! He's not even in there!"

"He was five minutes ago, pip squeak! Don't blame me for your husband's schizoid tendencies."

"Fuck you, Gigantor! There is nothing schizophrenic about Jasper. You're just jealous because your wife is Narcissistic!"

I chuckled at the realization that Rose could probably hear this entire conversation, as well and that both my wife and Emmett would find themselves in some hot water with her for the better part of the next year. The not-so-stealthy vampires froze when they hear me and I cursed myself internally.

"You're the idiot, Sam! Your stupid husband has been listening the whole time! We won't be able to—"

"Shut it, Em, or I swear you will have what you hold in your hand up your ass so quickly—"

"Okay, okay! Geez, Jasper, your wife is abusive. You should maybe talk to someone about that. Ouch," he shouted as my wife's tiny hand smacked his tree trunk of an arm.

"You should maybe see someone about that missing brain," my wife hissed, "Jazz, we're coming in. Open the window and move out of the way."

I complied and watched Samantha lithely jump through the gap and grin at me. My lips reciprocated without thinking as she crossed to me. Her arms linked behind my neck as she pulled me down for a quick peck.

"Get a room, you perverts."

She stiffened and turned to glare at him as he grinned back at her.

"Like you're one to talk. Jazz, you have to come with us! We found something to do and you're going to LOVE it!"

"Okay, darlin'. What exactly did you discover?"

"Paintball," she and Emmett shouted loudly at the same time.

"You're kidding, right?"

They both shook their heads and I groaned, pulling away from Samantha and tossing myself onto the couch.

"That game is entirely juvenile. I mean, really…who wants to shoot people for fun?"

Both of them raised their hands and I again groaned, marking them down as lost causes in my book of charity cases. My eyes closed to try to calm myself and ignore the excitement emanating from the two silly fools standing in front of me. That's why my wife's attack was so unexpected. She was suddenly wrapped around me, her arms around my neck and legs ensnaring my waist. My eyes almost rolled back in my head as her fingers started playing with the hair at the back of my neck. Shivers ran up and down my spine as she whispered in my ear.

"Come on, Jasper. Play with me…please," she begged, nipping at my ear with her teeth.

Of course, you _know_ that I was up and out of that damn seat so fast my lovely wife's head spun clear to Tulsa, my sneaky-assed wife clinging to me and giggling in my ear.

"Yay! This is going to be so much fun, Jasper! Emmett, see if you can talk anyone else into coming with us. Jazz and I'll go ahead and get the place scoped out. Later, biatch," she called as we raced out the door.

Seconds later, we were settled in the car and moving quickly down the highway. Her hand was gripped tightly in mine as she babbled on intensely about only God knew what. I was too busy riding her adrenaline-like high and fighting off my own urge to maul her luscious mouth. Honestly, who could blame me? I did finally tune in to her chatter.

"…but you have to have different paint colors for each team and this damn Podunk place didn't, so Em and I found a whole new place that has paintballs in all the colors of the fucking rainbow! Are you even listening to me, Jasper?"

"Of course, darlin.' Just wanted to let you know that we're here."

She quickly glanced out the window and was out the door with a teenage girl-like squeal. I sighed, following like I always follow that damn woman.

And that's how, forty-five minutes later, I found myself covered in sissified purple paint and mentally cursing Alice and her foresight. Samantha was dancing in a circle around me, cheerfully and shamefully making fun of my dishevel.

"I got you! I got you! Ha ha ha I got you!"

"Knock that damn shit off, woman! People are starting to _stare_," I hissed at her.

She glanced surreptitiously over her shoulder and, spotting no one besides our father and brothers laughing their heads off, went right back to her victory dance. I stood there and took it for another thirty seconds and decided to just walk away. I moved toward the family and felt my wife following. As I took in the purple marks all over Edward and Carlisle, I couldn't help but notice the absence of color from Emmett's ample back. I grinned and patted him on the back as I walked past.

"Good luck, brother. You're next."

I heard him scoff at me and start to respond. The next thing I heard was the _thunk-thunk-thunk_ of paintballs bursting. Slowly, I turned to see whom my vicious pit bull of a wife had taken down. All I could see after I fully registered what had happened was the huge purple blotch of paint…right over Emmett's crotch. I saw Alice scamper up behind Samantha with a video camera in her hand and Rose with a digital. My wife was laughing hard enough that I would've sworn I'd see tears any second. Now, people were actually starting to stare…at Em's very noticeable stain.

"Hey, Emmett! Are you having some problems?"

Sam could barely get the words out through her laughter. Em glared at her.

"Shut it, Mighty Mouse. This is so not funny."

She walked up to him, seemingly repentant.

"Maybe I can help you, Em. Here," she said, aiming a water balloon with deadly accuracy at the paint stain.

Unbelievably, the paint washed away with water…leaving an inconspicuous spot that looked like—

"Damn you, Sam! I did NOT pee my pants, you—"

Carlisle and I both decided to intervene at the same time. I picked Samantha up and carried her in the opposite direction of out brother, who happened to be still sputtering obscenities. Sighing, I loaded my heart into the car and drove away, her chuckles ringing in my ears.

"You do know that he's going to give it back to you a million times worse that he got, right," I asked her some miles later.

"Well, duh! I just figured I needed to jump at this while I had the chance. Um…hate to break this to you, but I'm thinking of taking over Isle Esme for the next, oh I don't know…century. How does that sound?"

"Like the coward's way out, my lovely. You'll take your comeuppance like a Rebel, woman, or I just may have to be ashamed to call you my wife."

"Damn your Southern loyalty to Hell and back, Jasper Whitlock Cullen Hale!"

Her grumbling and my laughter lasted for hours.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, all! Sorry I haven't put anything up here for a while. RL has been devastating to say the least. Anyway...this outtake is angsty since I was definitely in a mood when I wrote it, but there is a HEA so no worries. I really hope you all enjoy the 'chapter' Cryptic! **

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**Cryptic**

**Song inspiration of the chapter: Hot N Cold-Katy Perry**

_**Sam POV**_

I fought back a moan as his icy lips danced up and down my neck. One slipped through as he found the spot that drove me crazy and started sucking on it like there was no tomorrow. My fingernails dug into his shoulders as my legs locked around his waist. I was almost floating on air when my reason for trying this seduction came rushing back to me. Reluctantly, I pulled away and said one word, knowing he'd understand.

"Please?"

I literally attached myself to him, trying to get him to tell me what was wrong. My fingers were running through his hair and my lips were centimeters from his. He, on the other hand, was unresponsive as stone. I felt a surge of anger and frustration and fought to stop it from absorbing into my psyche. However, this was very hard when he sighed angrily and pushed me off him. _Oh, no he didn't! That's the last fucking straw! I don't need this!_

"Fine. Whatever. Figure it out _yourself_ and suffer all by your fucking _self_! I'm _so_ over this. I'm done. You can get the divorce papers to me through our resident lawyer."

My anger propelled my down the stairs and out the door. When the steam of that ran out, I found myself in the middle of an empty field. Happy that this place held no significance for us, I simply plopped down in the dirt. Alice would be pissed at me for ruining the jeans I was wearing, but I was past the point of caring. Despair was flooding me and I could think of nothing but what had been going on for the past month.

The boys had taken a hunting trip to Denali and made a short stop to see Tanya and her coven while they were in the area. Ever since they'd returned, Jasper had been so desperate to have me. At first, I loved it and chalked it up to missing me while he'd been away. The horny sex fiend who replaced my husband started to tip me off that something was wrong.

I confronted him about his behavior after a marathon fifteen-hour session together. Suddenly, my Jasper disappeared and this cold, distant man took him over. I felt the anger crackling in the air around us as he started yelling at me.

"Nothing is wrong, Samantha. Do you have a problem with a man wanting his own fucking wife?"

I stumbled back, shocked to the core at his tone. He'd never spoken to me this way before and, unsurprisingly, it cut me to my soul. I felt my heart start to tear as I spoke.

"Of course not, Jazz, but I can tell that there's something else going on here and I want to help you!"

He rolled his eyes and stomped toward the door to our bedroom.

"That's fantastic. Why don't you go help someone else?"

My knees gave out as he slammed the door behind him and ran out of the house. Esme found me like that on the floor an hour later, sobbing my unnecessary lungs out. He returned well into the next morning, begging my forgiveness and trying to explain his behavior away. He blamed it on the need to hunt, and I stupidly believed him.

The next day, another epic battle of the tempers broke out. This time, it was over his stupid journal. Apparently, I had moved it when I was cleaning the room and automatically that meant I'd read it.

"If I wanted someone to dig through my things, I would get a God damned dog!"

Now, I was way beyond hurt at his words and just got totally pissed.

"I never looked in the journal, you ass hat! What the hell is your problem?"

"You don't know _shit_ about my problems."

Slamming door followed by hasty exit and repentant return. This happened once a week for the rest of the month. Alice and I had both tried to see what was going on with him and Edward had probed his thoughts more than once, all with no gain. I asked him about a hundred times to tell me what was the matter and to let me help him. Each time, he'd leave angry. Unable to resist him when he returned, I gave in to his way of trying to make his tantrums up to me. Finally, this day, _he_ pushed _me_ away. That hadn't happened yet and it scared me. It scared me because it confirmed my worst fears: Jasper was cheating on me.

As much as I hated to believe it of the love of my existence, the proof was there in front of me…or rather, between us. His distance, the guilt I saw in his eyes each time he touched me, and the fact that it all started when he visited two single succubi. Each one of our siblings and our parents tried to convince me that he wouldn't ever do that to me, but how could I be sure? What ties did I have to hold him that couldn't be broken by those gorgeous women? I could think of none and resigned myself that I was losing my husband.

Making myself believe that my marriage was over was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. It took me nearly the whole month and I _still_ wasn't ready. That's why I gave myself and Jasper one last chance to prove that he still needed me. Obviously that was failure on an epic scale, as shown by his rejection of me.

The pain in my heart had me trying to hold myself together. My arms wrapped around my knees, which held my aching head. This did nothing to stop the pain and I gave up trying. Letting the misery have me, I curled up in the fetal position on my side and zoned out.

Far away voices an eternity later partially brought me back to reality. Sweet and gentle and smooth and pained…

"Oh, Carlisle, look at her! What are we going to do?"

"I don't know, my love. Let's get her back to the house and we'll decide what to do from there."

I suddenly felt like I was floating as I felt cool air brushing my face. I sighed inaudibly and wrapped myself around what or whoever was close by. It took my brain a minute to register that it was my father who had me. Desperate for comfort, I buried myself in his shirt and pathetically whimpered.

"You're all right now, dear heart. Try to rest now."

The most beautiful voice in the world suddenly filled my ears.

"You found her! Oh, thank God, Samantha! Give her to me, Carlisle."

"Don't you touch her, Jasper Whitlock Cullen. You should be ashamed of yourself. I am surely more disappointed in you than I have _ever_ been in one of you children. You'll not go near her unless she asks to speak to you. She's been through enough and I'll not have you adding to this. Now move!"

I'd never heard Esme so angry. If I had been fully cognizant, I would have been shaking in my sling backs. Warmth suddenly surrounded me as I felt something soft hit my back. More softness covered me and I again lost touch with reality.

When I came to hours later, Rosalie was gripping my hand as she blabbered on about nothing.

"—have to see the new Louboutin boots, Sam. They are to die for! You can borrow them, if you'd like—"

"I'll take you up on that as soon as I can get my ass out of this bed."

She gasped and looked at me, quickly moving to the door. Opening it and shouting out, she looked like an avenging angel.

"Carlisle! She's back, get in here!"

She was back at my side just as quickly, supporting me as I tried to leave the bed.

"None of that, Sam. Get yourself back in that bed."

I froze at the stern voice of my father. Sighing because I knew I was done for, I let Rose put me back under the covers. Carlisle was staring at me intently as she situated the covers around me.

"How are you feeling, Sam."

_Peachy. I found out I'm getting a divorce today. _

"I'm fine, Dad. Please, can I get up now?"

He stayed annoyingly silent as he went about checking me out. Perturbed, I stayed still to make the procedure faster. His words almost made me jump.

"You seem to be fine. You can get up if you like, but make sure one of us is with you at all times for the next twenty-four hours."

"Fine."

I quickly threw the covers aside and stood, but froze as I realized I had nowhere I wanted to go. Thankfully, Rose saw my hesitation and took my hand, leading me from the room as she spoke.

"How about we find a movie to watch?"

I smiled at her and squeezed her hand gently.

"Sounds fabulous, Rose. Thanks, sis. By the way, where is everyone?"

She hesitated for a second, then decided to speak.

"Esme is in the kitchen baking, Edward and Emmett are in the back yard releasing some aggression, Alice is shopping and I'm here with you."

I was saddened immediately.

"Oh…Jasper left already?"

She looked at me, shocked.

"Left? No, honey. He…Esme kicked him out."

"WHAT? No! She can't—"

"She can and has, Sam. He can't come back unless you ask it of him."

"Wait…he _wanted_ to be here?"

_Okay…now I'm confused. I gave him an out. Why is he sticking around? Oh!_

"He wants _me_ to leave."

"Where the hell did you get that idea? He's been trying to see you since before we started looking for you. Edward picked his mind and told us what happened, so Esme made him stay behind."

A hazy memory of his voice calling for me and arguing with Esme came to me and I felt a little excited.

"Rose, where is he now?"

"Why? You aren't going to see him, are you?"

I looked at he like she was crazy.

"Of course I am."

She dropped my hand like it would burn her alive. Anger like I hadn't seen since we first met almost deformed her perfect features. I felt sadness go through me that she'd turn on me so quickly, but rationalized that it would make it easier when Jasper asks me to leave and moves in his whore. _Damn it, that hurts! Why does it hurt so much_, I asked myself.

"You are so much stupider than I ever thought. Have fun with letting him break your heart…again. You deserve each other."

With that, she stormed off, screaming for Emmett the whole way. Fighting off that additional dagger to the heart, I quickly decided to search out my husband. At lightning speed, I picked up his scent and followed it to our place. Immediately, I saw him in the middle of our clearing, his golden eyes unfocused.

He was too zoned out and didn't sense my approach until I was a foot from his inert form. Surprise flooded his face and I could almost taste it in the air as he flung himself at me, his face buried in my stomach and arms locked around my waist. My hands automatically ran over his soft hair.

"Samantha," he rasped, his voice like gravel in a cement mixer, "I am _so_ sorry! Can you ever forgive me for what I've done?"

He pulled back, his eyes staring at me imploringly. I sighed, gently disengaging myself from his grasp. The hurt that crossed his features made me want to go back to him, but I knew that none of this would be better until we talked about what had been going on for the past weeks.

"Jasper…I love you so much, but I can't fully forgive you unless you tell me what is going on with you. Is it something I can help you—"

"NO!"

His voice scared nearby animals out of their hiding places and farther into the forest. It didn't do much for my disposition, either. My already fried nerves started jumping and twitching, making me feel like a million tiny pieces exploding. Panic quickly replaced the disturbance on Jasper's face as he senses this change in me. I feel a wave of serenity and grab onto it like a drowning woman. Calm inundates me and I face him again.

"You have to let me do something, Jasper."

"I said no, Sam."

"Oh…okay, then. My things will be gone by the time you get back, and I will be as well."

_If he isn't willing to help me fight for us, I'm finished; I can't do this on my own. _I turned to leave and felt his strong hand on my shoulder, grip gentle but enough to stop me. I flinched, flying into pieces inside.

"Samantha, you can't leave me. Please, stay!"

Fury suddenly came over me and I spun on him, glaring up at his face.

"I am sick and fucking tired of this hot and cold bull shit you're feeding me, Whitlock. Make up your fucking mind; fight for me or let me fucking _be_!"

I found myself screaming at the end of my little tirade and couldn't make myself look at my husband; I knew his face would be my downfall and we'd be stuck where we'd been for the past month. Ergo, I waited for him to fight. His resigned sigh gently blew my hair, his scent enveloping me; my hands clenched and grasped the fabric of my shirt to stop myself from touching him.

"You're right as always, my little soldier. You've been fighting for me, so it's about time I reciprocated. I'm begging you, Samantha, hear me out fully before you make your decision. If you do this, I swear I won't contest your decision later. Can you do that for me, darlin'?"

I nodded, unable to speak through the lump in my throat at his nickname.

"Thank you. I'm not sure how to say this, so it's just going to come out without preamble or…whatever."

I almost smirked, thinking that he was hanging out with me way too much if he was picking up my vocabulary.

"That's fine, Jazz. Just spit it out already," I implored.

"Okay. When we were with the Denali coven, Kate and I were in town 'grocery shopping.' A little boy tripped and fell, skinning his knee on the floor. I'm so sorry, Samantha, but his knee was bleeding and I…I almost killed him. I _would_ have if Kate hadn't literally dragged me out of the store."

I stood there in silence, waiting for the other shoe to drop. _This is the part where you tell me that you both fell into bed, desperate to comfort each other, right?_ But, after five minutes, he hadn't said anything else. I finally allowed myself to look at Jasper's face. It looked as close to ill as our kind could get and I felt a jolt of sympathy, quickly followed by curiosity. Which turned out to be my husband's, judging by the utterly confused expression on his face.

"That's it?"

Bafflement was the only word for his face right then. If I weren't so frustrated, I would have laughed my ass off.

"Isn't that enough, Samantha? I nearly _killed_ someone! An innocent child!"

It was my turn to be confused.

"But you didn't. Jasper, you stopped yourself. That's what matters."

He groaned and started pacing the clearing. My eyes followed every movement.

"_I_ didn't stop _myself_, Sam. Kate stopped me. I would have killed that boy if—"

"Nope. Wouldn't have happened."

He stared at me with disbelief now, his eyes wide.

"What?"

I shrugged, maintaining eye contact.

"You wouldn't have killed that little boy. Even if you'd been there by yourself and he was the only human in the room, you wouldn't have killed him. So…that's what this whole month has been about? You felt guilty for almost drinking human blood?"

"Yes, of course. What the Hell do you mean I wouldn't have—"

He stopped when I rolled my eyes and huffed.

"I meant exactly what I said, Jasper. You would have stopped yourself from hurting him. I know you, Jazz…you're too good to let yourself hurt someone on purpose."

"And what exactly has this last month been about then, hmm? How do you justify the way I've treated you?"

His anger was blistering; I knew I needed to calm him down or he'd never listen to me. I quickly closed the distance between us, my hands cupping his face.

"You were trying to atone for what you thought you'd done. I think you were making your not-even-a-mistake-mistake up to me with actions, then you felt guilty because you were letting yourself be happy. If you had talked to me, I'd've told you that what happened was next to nothing; I would have been proud of you for sparing that little boy's life."

"But—"

"You could've gotten away from Kate," I said, anticipating his next argument, "but you _let_ her take you away. That tells me that you had complete control over yourself."

He simply stared down at me for the longest time, his emotions in a constant flux between shock and elation. A sudden surge of gladness hit me and I was swept off my feet and into his arms before I realized what was happening. My arms wrapped themselves around Jasper as he spun us around, our laughter ringing in my ears.

"Thank you, God, for giving this woman to me! How I'll ever function without her is beyond me," he shouted, making me giggle like a five-year-old. My fingers wound into his hair as I whispered in his ear.

"Whatever happens, Jasper, you'll never have to find out. I love you and I'm not going anywhere. We'll be together, just like this, for the rest of our existence. I swear," I finished, my lips nipping at his ear. His face buried itself in my neck, his lips gently caressing it.

"I finally believe you, Samantha, After what I've put you through, just to have you stay…I'll never doubt us again."

I looked into his eyes and read the sincerity there. I smiled down at him, happiness soaking my soul.

"It's about damn time, Whitlock. Now…how's about you take you wife to bed like a good Southern gentleman," I drawled, affecting his gorgeous accent. I laughed as he growled and took off towards the house.

* * *

**I hoped you all liked it, despite the angsty nature of it. Let me know via review/PM. As always, feel free to leave a request along with your opinion! *hugs***


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